Trump warns Pelosi to 'be careful' after rejecting shutdown proposal

By

Daniel Uria

President Donald Trump warned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to "be careful" on Sunday after Democrats turned down a proposal that would exchange protections for thousands of undocumented immigrants for funding for a border barrier in order to end the partial government shutdown. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

Jan. 20 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump warned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to "be careful" after Democrats turned down a proposal seeking compromise on immigration policy to end the partial government shutdown.

A day after Trump made the proposal during a 13-minute televised White House address, the president addressed concerns that his plan would offer amnesty to thousands of undocumented immigrants by extending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and appeared to warn Pelosi, D-Calif., of increased deportations.

"No, Amnesty is not a part of my offer. It is a 3 year extension of DACA. Amnesty will be used only on a much bigger deal, whether on immigration or something else. Likewise there will be no big push to remove the 11,000,000 plus people who are here illegally-but be careful Nancy!" Trump wrote on Twitter.

The president also accused Pelosi of becoming a "Radical Democrat" and losing control of the party due to fear of so-called "lefties." He also repeated claims that Democrats' actions during the shutdown negotiations have been intended to influence the upcoming presidential election.

"Nancy Pelosi and some of the Democrats turned down my offer yesterday before I even got up to speak. They don't see crime and drugs, they only see 2020 - which they are not going to win. Best economy! They should do the right thing for the Country & allow people to go back to work," Trump wrote.

Pelosi responded to Trump's flurry of tweets Sunday, calling for an end to the shutdown that would allow 800,000 government employees to return to paid work before negotiating funding for an expanded physical barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border.

"Re-open the government, let workers get their paychecks and then we can discuss how we can come together to protect the border," she wrote.

In addition to offering three years of relief for 700,000 DACA recipients, Trump's proposal would extend legal status of 310,000 Temporary Protected Status holders -- people who are legally living and working in the United States as their countries recover from natural disasters and armed conflicts. Both of these programs are likely to remain in place for at least several months due to existing orders by federal judges.

In exchange, Trump requested $5.7 billion in barrier funding along 215 miles of the 1,954-mile Southern border, a project which could cost upwards of $25 billion in total.

"What President Trump did here is he set the table for a deal that will address the crisis on the border, secure our border and give us a pathway to reopen the government," Pence said.

Democrats on Sunday held to their position that they would not negotiate legislation on the border wall until the shutdown is ended.

"Let's not hold the American people, especially the federal workers, hostage to these negotiations," Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., said on Fox News Sunday. "Hopefully we will open with what he has put on the table, and let's go back and forth on this and see where we can find common ground."

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said on NBC News' Meet the Press that Democrats shouldn't "reward the kind of behavior of hostage-taking" by accepting a deal before the end of the shutdown.

"Let me make clear, that what the President proposed yesterday, increasing border security, looking at [Temporary Protected Status], looking at the Dreamers -- I'll use that as a starting point, but you've got to start by opening the government," Warner said.